All our efforts and planning for weeks finally came to fruition yesterday when we celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi in Seoul National Universities auditorium. And we celebrated it with such great aplomb this time that everybody took great festive feelings back home.

This was our 4th year of Ganesh Chaturthi celebration in Korea. Satish ji initiated this at his residence few yrs ago by inviting few friends over and now the celebrations have moved to an auditorium which accommodates more than 300 people.

This year the festival was celebrated by Vedic Culture Centre in collaboration with Seoul National University students. The students at Seoul National University were the backbone for this festival who did everything from hall booking, stage and sitting arrangements, music arrangements, receiving the guests to even cleaning proactively.

Since we were not able to get any hall on 11th September, we took liberty and celebrated the festival on 19th September 2010 as per convenience. And taking into consideration the very unusual location of SNU campus we managed to gather more than 300 guests for the celebrations.

The day started with Ganesh Pooja by Pandit Chaturvedi ji, the only pandit in Korea. This was followed by a speech by the Ambassador of Nepal. Later we had performances by Prashant ji, SNU students, Kamala Mataji along with members of Vedic culture center, kids and a super finale by Pushpanjali Mataji from Russia performing Bharatnatyam.

Prasadam was served at around 1 pm. After all the shows were over we performed the Sukhaharta-Dukhaharta aarti and then proceeded towards the river for Visarjan shouting Ganpati Bappa Morya on the streets of Korea. The energy and excitement of that day is beyond words to describe and something to be felt on a personal level. Below are the pictures of our festival.

It is extremely difficult to find a job here in Korea for engineers. One of the main reason being Koreans prefer recruiting Indians through recommendation. So mostly the Indians (including me) who are working here in Korea have been recommended by someone (ex-colleague mostly) who has been working in Korea for some time. Having said that Indian Engineers are a lot in demand these days in Korea. But make sure before you accept any offer you negotiate pretty well and accept a salary which is at par with your experience and as per industry standards.

So here are a few websites and email ids where you can post or forward your resume:

You need to first register your resume on the Gold Card system website here:

Jabollae Observatory on the banks of Han River (TtukSeom Resort) is one of the unique buildings in the shape of a Korean Jabollae bug. More than an observatory it is also a multiplex housing 3D theatre, Digital Art Museum, Animation Studios, Gift Shops, Restaurants and Cafes with the panoramic view of the Han River.

Jabollae Observatory is a good place to introduce your kids to the world of animation and digital art. They have continuous videos playing the behind-the-scenes of various animation techniques. Plus it also introduces the kids to the various technique like storyboarding, sketching, scenario etc.

They also have a section where it explains Korean Characters using animation and a section where you see a digital reflection of your self.

The exterior of Jabollae park is equally exciting with beautiful lush green park where you relax on a busy evening. Just a stone throw away from the observatory you have rock climbing facility and a few water sports like water rides and water surfing.

You can also take a water cab (taxi) from Ttukseom Resort towards Banpo bridge. Take it in the evening to avoid traffic and enjoy the night view across the river.

Once you reach Banpo Bridge you will be able to view the Moonlight Fountain flowing across the bridge in the evening around 8 pm. Its a 20 minute fountain show synchronized with soft instrumental music.

To reach Jabollae Observatory by subway – you need to take Line 7 and get down at Ttukseom Resort – Exit 1.

To reach Banpo Bridge by subway – you need to take Line 3 and get down at Express Bus Terminal – Exit 8-1 and walks towards Banpo Bridge.

It is not that common to find a bookstore in Seoul which sells only English books. All the biggies like Kyobo, Bandi and Lunis, YP Books deal mostly in Korean books and they have a very small section on foreign books where you can find some English Books. Mostly these shops would stock only bestsellers. So if you are looking for a specific writer or a book then finding such books would be a bit challenging in Korea.

There are a few good bookstores in Seoul which deals only in English books:

The first one is What the Book at Itaewon. It is next to next to foreign mart in Itaewon and they have a good collection of new as well as used books. They also have a website: what the book.

Then, there is The Foreign Bookstore at Noksapyeong. They have a huge collection of used magazines and books in almost all genres. To find this place you need to get down at Noksapyeong station (next to Itaewon) exit 2 and walk straight till you can spot a big board titled BOOKS on your right, across the road.

Other option would be to visit Itaewon Global Village Center. They have maintained a library for books received as donations from other expats. You need to make a deposit of 500o won for borrowing any of the books available their. For more details you can visit their blog here.

theyeogiyo.com also hosts a Book Exchange event regularly at Bundang. You can visit their website for more details.

P.S. the bookstores above do not have any technical books. All the technical books in the field of engineering or science are in Korean. So you can order them online via Amazon or what the book.